Boycott Qatar 2022 to stop the World Cup

Regardless of the allegations of corruption, which most of the world thinks are true regardless of the FIFA run "investigation" into the allegations, Qatar should not be hosting a World Cup.

Even if the corruption charges are uncorroborated, they still essentially "bought" themselves a World Cup, with no reasons to vote for them other than the obscene millions pumped into their marketing their bid, which was on an unprecedented scale (it cost them hundreds of millions, whereas Australia, a rival bidder, for example spent £40 million, still a lot of money, but it pales into insignificance when considering Qatar's investment).

While the sources of their money are thoroughly questionable, as well as the nation's frankly repulsive human rights record, there are far more simple reasons why Qatar shouldn't be holding a World Cup.

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Firstly, and more obviously, is the climate, which will require the World Cup final to be played in mid-December. It seems beyond obvious that football cannot be played in the middle of a desert, making the choice of Qatar for a World Cup fundamentally illogical.

What's more it will overturn a tradition almost as old as the competition itself in forcing the final to be played in mid-December. There is absolutely no justification for the choice being Qatar, particularly if this is what will be required, and what's even more repulsive, is the fact that the bid lied to the footballing world by saying consistently that the tournament would be played in the summer, regardless of the climatic issues (they even suggested artificial clouds to shade the stadiums...seriously).

The concept of playing football in air-conditioned, indoor stadiums is illogical enough (think of the environmental cost and waste of electricity!) but to add insult to injury, almost immediately after realising the decision for Qatar to host 2022 wouldn't be overturned because of corruption allegations, their true colors emerged and they announced it would be played according to their terms, in the winter.

Disruption

Related to this is the disruption this will cause to every major domestic league in the world. This is unbelievably selfish and disruptive for the game. It would be entirely understandable if this World Cup would help bring football to a populous and passionate part of the world, where the tournament would bring undoubted benefits.

But the issue with Qatar, is it doesn't serve this purpose. This World Cup is entirely a Qatari vanity project, which will only be enjoyed by the privileged elites of Qatar (an ethically questionable group, to say the very least), and wealthy fans from around the world.

This goes against the very principles of football being a sport for the people, and this has been a major part of the magic of World Cups over the years (South Africa being a great recent example).

Human rights

What's more, Qatar, and the construction of the infrastructure for the tournament itself, has a undoubted repulsive human rights record. There is no such thing as freedom of expression in Qatar, being homosexual is illegal, migrant workers are essentially slave labourers and gender inequality, though certainly moving in the right direction in Qatar, is still high.

Surely this should be enough to at least make the world think twice about this nation hosting such a major international sporting event, and one of the few occasions which genuinely brings the world together. Though I do suppose conversely people will argue that the World Cup can be a positive force for change in the country.

The list of reasons this is a terrible decision for a World Cup location could continue and be elaborated on almost infinitely. Though the Islamic world is certainly due a World Cup, surely there are more feasible options (Turkey perhaps, where there is an enormous fanbase and various top quality stadia in place), and it would have been wise, if this is the main motivation, to at least wait for a country with a fervent support for football to bid from that part of the world.

It seems almost inevitable that this will go ahead, despite almost unanimous opposition from the footballing world, FIFA, predictably, are turning a deaf ear and refusing to heed any of this. Russia's choice for the upcoming world cup is also questionable, though at least there are some logical justifications for the choice.

Boycott

There is only one way for the world to stop this from happening, and the motivations for this are not purely footballing. The major football nations, on both ethical and footballing grounds must unite and boycott this World Cup.

This will be the only way to prevent it from going ahead, and it must happen sooner rather than later. If the major nations boycott the tournament, it will be impossible to go ahead. This is the only way for world football to save 2022, and though I seriously doubt it will happen, it makes me sad that the sport that I and so many others around the world love, is sinking to such lows.

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